Bio

Helen’s research interest lies in science and technology that can establish and enhance a symbiotic relationship between humans and wearable assistive machines in order to augment motor function for individuals with disabilities. Her research goal is to create breakthroughs in human-machine symbiotic (HMS) systems that empower disabled people to lead more active and productive lives.

To achieve this overarching goal, her current research focuses on understanding how limb amputees and robotic prostheses interact with each other and their environments and the development of advanced control for robotic prostheses, which are adaptive, efficient, and safe, in order to restore the motor function in individuals with limb amputations. Three research thrusts have been formulated in my lab:

Thrust 1: Investigation of neuromuscular control and sensorimotor integration in limb amputees and development of neural-machine interfaces for neural control of robotic prosthetic limbs.

Thrust 2: Investigation of wearer-machine co-adaptation and development of optimal adaptive control for robotic prostheses that provide personalized assistance and can adapt to changes in wearers and environments.

Thrust 3: Investigation of error correction and tolerance in human-machine symbiotic (HMS) systems and development of fault tolerant control for robotic prosthetic legs to improve the wearer’s stability and safety.

*For current projects and open opportunities, check our lab or CLEAR websites

Research Interests

Wearable robotics
Neural-machine interface
Robotic prosthetics and exoskeleton
Optimal adaptive control
Human-robot interaction

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Awards

2021 ALCOA Foundation Distinguished Engineering Research Award, NC State University
2021 Statistics in Physical Engineering Sciences Award (SPES Award), American Statistical Association (ASA)
2021 AIMBE Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering
2020 Named to the Jackson Family Distinguished Professor, NC State University
2019 Selected Organization Committee Member for China-America Frontiers of Engineering Symposium, US National Academy of Engineering
2017 Selected Participant for China-America Frontiers of Engineering Symposium, US National Academy of Engineering,
2015 University Faculty Scholar, North Carolina State University
2015 Selected Participant for U.S. Frontiers of Engineering Symposium, US National Academy of Engineering
2012 Elevated to Senior Member of the IEEE
2012 NSF Faculty Early CAREER Award, National Science Foundation, USA
2011 Outstanding Intellectual Property Development, Awarded by the President of URI
2008 Winner, the Delsys Prize for Innovation in Electromyography, Delsys Inc. MA, USA
2008 Switzer Research Fellowship: National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), U.S. Department of Education

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Courses Taught

BME355 Bio-controls

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